The cameras were in the cabinet room on Monday, apparently so the TV stations could get footage of the new line-up after last year’s reshuffle. But Tony Abbott also wanted to get a message out – one he’s…

Having Julie Bishop potentially in a leadership field imposes a restraint because of the uncertainty of the result.
AAP/Ross SetfordMarch 1, 2015

As Liberal MPs gather for more testing days in parliament, a Fairfax/Ipsos poll showing improvement in the ratings of both the Coalition and the prime minister should help Tony Abbott fireproof himself…

University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Stephen Parker and Michelle Grattan discuss the week in politics including the New South Wales state election, if Tony Abbott is likely to be replaced and who would gain from a leadership transition to Malcolm Turnbull.

Tony Abbott’s leadership is now so fragile that he seems nearly beyond being able to rebalance himself. Abbott is the victim of leaks and general destabilisation, and the continued miscalculations by himself…

With the intergenerational report, Joe Hockey is asking the Australian public to lift their eyes from the here-and-now and look a few decades on.
AAP/Dean LewinsFebruary 19, 2015

Embattled on most fronts, Tony Abbott is switching attention to national security, with a statement on Monday week foreshadowing tougher measures. In Sunday’s weekly video, the prime minister stepped up…

Whenever an Australian government runs into trouble we hear calls for a clearer narrative. The latest contribution comes in a thoughtful article from Waleed Aly. Aly points to the similar undermining of…

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been unable to turn his fortunes around this week.
AAP/Mick TsikasFebruary 12, 2015

If, as Tony Abbott declared, good government started on Monday then, to borrow a Gillardism, it “lost its way” well before the week’s end. The days after Abbott’s “near death” experience provided no evidence…

Tony Abbott is offering logical evidence and emotional appeals, but the rhetorical problem is his own loss of credibility and authority.
AAP/Mick TsikasFebruary 12, 2015

“Is it me?” That was the question John Howard reportedly asked his cabinet colleagues as his government remained stubbornly behind in the polls in 2007. One of those colleagues, Tony Abbott, now confronts…

In the battles within the government between now and May, Treasurer Joe Hockey will lack the degree of authority he could deploy a year ago.
AAP/Lukas CochFebruary 11, 2015

The Liberals have drawn a line under the leadership issue for the moment, but this week’s unsuccessful spill motion has changed fundamentally the dynamics within the government and the party. Malcolm Turnbull…

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull earlier this week linked the Liberals’ leadership crisis to “bullying” by journalists covering Australian politics. He was not suggesting, I don’t think, that the…

With just eight MPs to back her campaign for government, Queensland ALP leader Annastacia Palaszczuk relied heavily on local community organising and decision-making.
AAP/Dan PeledFebruary 11, 2015

The “new politics” of 21st-century Australia is much clearer after the extraordinary result in the Queensland election on January 31. Australia’s new politics consists of three elements that they will…